Preview: India vs Bangladesh, Match 1

After weeks of being bombarded by what is certainly the biggest publicity campaign in the history of cricket World Cups, the reason for the hype and hoopla will get underway at Mirpur with two tournament hosts clashing in the opening match of the World Cup 2011.

On the one hand is India - in everybody's list as favourites, having assembled a star-studded line-up, the one-pointed focus of a billion hysterical dreams - and hopefully not feeling buried under the enormous pressure that was always going to be an inevitable by-product of playing the world's biggest tournament in front of the world's most passionate fans.

On the other hand are Bangladesh, who have an impressive giant-killing resume in past World Cups, but remain the underdogs in the opening clash. Bangladesh beat Pakistan in 1999 - a win that led to their eventual Test status - but the victory that is going to be foremost on both teams' minds is the one that happened almost exactly four years ago. On 17th March 2007, Mashrafe Mortaza picked up 4/38, while Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan all hit fifties to knock India out of the previous World Cup.

Of the men who tasted that bitter defeat, a sizeable number have the chance to make amends. Sehwag, Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Zaheer and Munaf Patel were all part of the playing eleven four years ago, and are not likely to ever forget that loss. By the same token, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahriar Nafees, Abdur Razzaq, Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib al Hasan will have fresh and pleasant memories of the win that propelled them to the second stage of the previous World Cup.

However much both sets of teams speak of this being 'just another match', the fact is, it is not. Quite apart from the weight of history of four summers past, the promise of the future also looms large.

After India's explosion as the world's only cricketing super-power, this is the first World Cup that is being held in the sub-continent. Consequently, there hasn't been a bigger cricketing event than this one in history.

The frenzy and hype surrounding the event - and the Indian team in particular - will be powerful forces. If India stumble, it will weigh them down unbearably. If they start well, it will feed their momentum. On a smaller scale, the same holds true for Bangladesh. Their fans are as passionate as the Indians, and this is the first World Cup that Bangladesh has been part of where they are not considered rank outsiders, and are in fact in with a very real chance of progressing beyond the first stage.

Bangladesh will be quietly confident going into the match more because of their recent performances than their stirring win of 2007. In Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal they have players who can hold their own against anyone in the world, and the likes of Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzaq, Junaid Siddique, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shafiul Islam are a talented bunch. Their warm-up performance has been patchy. They steam-rollered a hapless Canada by 9 wickets, but were at the receiving end of an 89-run thrashing at the hands of Pakistan. They will know that it's the Pakistan match result that is more significant, and that they cannot afford a repeat of that against India. The one shining positive in both matches was the bowling of Shafiul Islam who returned very good figures. Shakib was as dependable as ever, while Tamim Iqbal hit a whirlwind half-century against Canada.

The preparations for India have gone mostly their way, with both warm-ups resulting in wins. A low-scoring scrap against Australia was followed by a romp against New Zealand. India would be wise to not set too high a store by the warm-up performances though, because they won both their warm-up matches in 2007 too. What is different in this Indian team is that it has had a winning feel to it for extended periods. For the first time since 1987, an Indian team is entering the World Cup as a fully legitimate pre-tournament favourite. Not that there aren't areas that need to be worked on - the bowling doesn't pack anywhere near the fire-power that the batting does - but in the absence of a dominant team and with the advantage of home conditions, this India team should be tough to beat on most days.

India will have a tricky task in selecting the final eleven. Given four bowlers and MS Dhoni, there are six spots left for batsmen. Of those, Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir will be automatic picks which leaves three slots. Given Virat Kohli's recent form it is unthinkable to exclude him which means Yuvraj, Raina and Yusuf Pathan will be fighting it out for the final two spots. Yusuf brings the X-factor to the squad and between Raina and Yuvraj, Raina has the better claim after smashing 50 off 26 balls against New Zealand and being a superior fielder to the once-brilliant Yuvraj.

If the batsmen present a tough ask, the bowlers too are not easy to narrow down. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh are certainties, but whether the think tank opts for two seamers or a spinner and a seamer to partner Zaheer and Harbhajan remains to be seen.

Face Off:

Zaheer Khan vs Tamim Iqbal

Zaheer Khan's second coming has been momentous for India and the bowler himself. His resurgence has started in the latter half of 2007, which was after India's ignominous exit in the World Cup. Since then, he has been amongst the foremost bowlers in the world and has honed his skill to a point where he is recognized as a master of his craft. He hasn't seen the same stunning success in ODIs as he has in Tests, but there is little doubt that he will be India's principal pace weapon in the World Cup.

He will be up against Tamim Iqbal - easily Bangladesh's best batsman, and someone who does not take a backward step no matter who the opposition is. Tamim has given virtuoso solo performances for Bangladesh, only to suffer from a lack of support all too often. Both Zaheer and Tamim have had promising starts to 2011 - while Zaheer averages 25.1 at an economy rate of 4.87, Tamim has scored his runs at an average of 33.7 and a strike rate of 96.2.

The head-to-head battles of the two though, present an intriguing picture. In 5 matches that they have faced each other, Zaheer has never got the wicket of Tamim Iqbal. In fact, he has been caned with Tamim smashing 68 runs off the 53 balls he has faced from Zaheer across 5 ODIs. Fittingly perhaps, the first match where the two squared off was the 2007 World Cup one. Zaheer will be keen to even the score with Tamim, and he has the perfect venue to mark the occasion in the opening match of the World Cup immediately following the 2007 one.

Final Word:

India are the favourites, and Bangladesh will have to play very well to upset them. However, that kind of performance isn't as rare from Bangladesh as it used to be. Their best bet lies in the hope that the hype and frenzy put undue pressure on the Indians. Not that Bangladesh will feel less of the heat - the match is played in front of their own fans, most of whom will not be satisfied with a 'good effort' performance, and will want only a win.

Bangladesh need their main players to get into the zone. India need to bury the ghost of World Cups past, and seize the promise of the future.